


The Black Pendant

by BoomChickaPop



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-04-29 20:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5140865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoomChickaPop/pseuds/BoomChickaPop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gen never asked to be different from her family. She never asked to be cursed with power so destructive, it could burn an entire city. All she wanted was to fit in. A firebender inside an earth kingdom family is almost unheard of. It’s not her fault her mother fell in love with a Fire Nation deserter. Somehow, she’ll have to find a place where she belongs, even if finding where she belongs means joining a band of pirates. Pirates can't be that bad, right? After all, they're only high risk traders with a thirst for adventure, and for money.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Walking into Destiny

Chapter 1: Walking into Destiny

The women always picked the crops during the harvest. It was the least they could do for the hardworking men who tended to the crops during the season. While the men rested and saved their strength for the next year of crops, the women picked the crops willingly. It was a time of role-switching in this small Earth Kingdom town. The women enjoyed being out in the sun with their sisters. It was a time of hard work and fun at the same time.  
One girl out of the town of women, picked the crops with more pep in her step than most days. Her copper eyes glistened against the warm summer sun and her raven hair flopped carelessly down her back in a long braid. Her hands quickly pulled the corn from its stems as she smiled at the beautiful day. Her pale skin reflected off the sun’s rays and she looked almost like a beacon in the sea of corn stalks.  
A woman not far from the girl watched her in quiet pride. The woman had the girl’s copper eyes and full facial features, but she lacked the girl’s exotic skin and hair. The woman had light brown hair and darker skin than the girl’s, but there was a similarity between the two that could not be overlooked. The girl noticed the woman watching her and she turned to face the woman.  
“Almost done, mother?” The girl asked, unable to keep her excitement from bursting out of her. Her mother chuckled slightly and nodded, pulling one final cob of corn from its stalk. The girl held out her basket, filled to the brim with corn and her mother took it from her, shaking her head in amusement.  
“You know, you could pretend not to know the surprise. You know your brother is hoping to shock you.” She said as the two of them started to head back to the village.  
“Well, I wouldn’t know the surprise if you hadn’t told me in the first place. Eri should have never told you, mother. We all know you can’t keep a secret.” Mother laughed again, her pearl white teeth glistening in the sunlight. Her daughter grinned as well, loving the feeling of the sun on her face and the great day that was planned ahead for her.  
As the two women reached the village, some the other women tending the fields had already returned. Still chattering amongst themselves, the women walked into the quaint little earth kingdom village and dropped off their baskets of corn at the market. They weaved through the winding streets and finally ended up in front of a small run-down hut towards the outskirts of the village.  
The women entered the hut and were greeted by a fire crackling in the pit and the smell of soup wafting in from the kitchen. A young man was in front of the pot on the stove, mixing the soup with his back facing the women. When he heard them enter, he paused in his cooking and turned around to face them. Like his mother and sister, he had copper eyes and sharp facial features. However, he took more after his mother in other looks. He smiled at the two women and walked over to greet them.  
“Hey Gen, guess what?” the oy asked as he walked over to them. The girl, Gen, smirked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. “I have a surprise for you.” Gen feigned confusion and looked at her mother who was trying to hold back her laughter.  
“What is it, Eri?” she asked, fighting to keep her laughter hidden. The boy, Eri, who looked only a few years older than his sister, grinned in anticipation.  
“For your birthday, I’m taking you to the market near the ocean. The merchants their have so many exotic things, I’m sure you’ll find something that we can get you.” Gen gasped and let out a little shriek of excitement. She grasped her brother’s hands and bounced around, dancing with him, and showering him in thanks. Her brother laughed at his sister excitement, as did their mother. Consumed with ecstasy and bliss, Gen let go of her brother’s hand and twirled around in a circle. She faced the fair and swung her arm around letting out a happy laugh.  
But that wasn’t the only thing she let out. Unable to control herself, her hands suddenly lit on fire and she blasted a small fire ball into the already large fire pit. Her mother gasped and her brother let out a cry of surprise.  
She shrieked, her happiness fading and stumbled backwards. She peered at her mother and brother to see them giving her angry and fearful looks.  
“Gen!” her mother scolded, “You know you can’t firebend here! If someone sees you, they will cart you off to prison in a heartbeat. Do you want to break this family a part?”  
“I’m sorry, mom, I didn’t mean to! I just got really excited, it won’t happen again, I promise!” Mother eyed her growing daughter and sighed, rubbing her temples. She knew Gen would never willingly hurt someone. She also knew that Gen was just as afraid of her ability as she was. Zora peered at her fair-skinned, raven-haired daughter and for what seemed like a millionth time, scolded herself for making the many mistakes she did.  
Zora still remembered when she met Kaito, the love of her life. She found him wounded and dying near the edge of her home village and quickly brought him to her house to heal him. He had been wearing Fire Nation clothing, but Zora only remembered feeling compelled to help him. He lay unconscious for many days and gave her enough time to study his handsome face. She knew she shouldn’t have been helping the enemy, but she couldn’t bring herself to simply leave him to die.  
When he had awoken, Zora was almost immediately under his spell. He was charming and noble, and even though he wore the colors of the enemy, Zora couldn’t help but think of him as the ally she always needed. It didn’t take long for Kaito to heal and for Zora to fall in love with him as he did. The villagers discovered that Zora had been hiding him and banished her. Zora remembered feeling scared and truly alone for the first time in her life. But Kaito had been there for her. He took her with him and told her that he was a deserter and that he no longer served the Fire Nation army.  
Together, Zora and Kaito took on new identities and moved to the new village to seek refuge. There, Zora had her first child with Kaito, Eri. All seemed to be happy for Zora’s family, but that was not the case. Zora could still remember as she was pregnant with her daughter, when the Fire Nation soldiers came for Kaito. They took him out of the house as he assured Zora that he would be home safe and that there was nothing to worry about.  
Zora never saw Kaito again.  
And now she was left with her two wonderful children. And one of them, Gen, her beloved daughter, cursed with the ability to bend fire. Zora did not know how to control her rambunctious daughter and tried to discipline her into never using her abilities. Zora knew that her daughter could not control it and that she needed to learn how to use her ability if she ever wanted to control it.  
But Zora knew of no one that could teach her daughter. Kaito had left her alone with this fate and Zora did not know how to deal with Gen. Her daughter was restless and impatient and Zora knew that one day, Gen would want to leave. She would want to leave Eri and Zora to go off on her own and discover her true meaning. Zora could not imagine what it must be like for her brave daughter to have a significant part of herself shielded from the world.  
But Zora knew that if anyone ever found out, Gen would be arrested. Zora would be damned if she saw her headstrong, determined daughter in chains.  
“I know, dear, I know.” Zora said, sighing again. She took her daughter’s hands and rubbed her thumbs over the palms. How these little hands could produce something so destructive, Zora would never know. Zora didn’t want to remember what had happened the last time Gen had lost control. “Let’s go to the market, all right? We’ll get you a birthday present and forget this ever happened.” Gen immediately brightened and nodded. Zora sighed and looked to Eri who was staring at his younger sister in pain.

Gen grinned as she passed another kiosk at the merchant’s market. This one had a man yelling at people to look into a mystery bag. Gen really wanted to look into the bag, but she knew that her mother and brother would not pay for it. She and her family had been here for a few hours now and Gen still did not know what she wanted. She could have gotten the cool cloak with the golden sparkles, or even the statue of the bejeweled raven. Those were all cool, but she wanted something better, something that she could use for the rest of her life.  
As Eri stopped to look at some weapons with her mother. Gen walked down the pier filled with boats from all the nations. She loved it out here because people from all three remaining nations could come in peace here and not be judged by where they came from. The paused at a stand next to a large boat with red, fan-like sails. The glanced at the stand and noticed the sign ‘Crew Needed’.  
She wasn’t sure what compelled her to investigate, but before she knew it, she was standing in front of the stand, peering at the flyers. She looked up to see a few scary looking men eyeing her and scoffing. One of them had a large hate and an iguana-parrot sitting on his shoulders. Gen looked back down at the flyers and picked one up.  
Crew Needed for High Risk Traders  
Full Time Job (at least a few years)  
All profit slip equally among crew  
Travels all around the world  
Must have some ability in fighting, burglary, or, infiltrating  
Gen shook her head at the flyer. It was obvious that these people were just pirates. Glancing at the flyer again, Gen couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of traveling around the world and storming vessels and stealing loot. It all seemed like a grand adventure to her. But she knew her mother would never let her go. She know that Eri and her mother wanted her to stay hidden in their little village.  
“Hey there, little lady. This kind of work might not be suited for someone like you.” Gen looked up to see them man with the pet bird on his shoulder, walking over to her. Gen pressed her lips together and crossed her arms.  
“And what makes you think I’m not suited for this kind of work?” She asked boldly, proud of herself for not stuttering or fumbling over her words. The man chuckled and sat down at the stand, crossing his arms.  
“You got any experience with sailing?” Gen looked away and frowned. “Any experience with fighting?” Gen still didn’t answer. “Have you ever stolen anything or gone anywhere besides you little village ever?” Gen sighed. Maybe she really wasn’t ready for this kind of thing. “Like I said, you’d be better off finding something else to quench your thirst for adventure.” Gen felt a pang of obstinacy at the man’s annoyed tone. She huffed and held out her hand, staring at her palm.  
“Can any of your crew firebend?” She asked brazenly, not once thinking about where she was or what she was doing. Concentrating, she smiled as a small flame appeared just above her hand. She looked up at the man whose eyebrows rose in surprise. She didn’t think for a second that firebending in a public place was definitely a risky move.  
“Gen!” Gulping, Gen put out her fire and turned around to see her mother and Eri storming towards her. Eri grabbed her shoulders and yanked her away as her mother began scolding her for straying off and for talking to sketchy strangers. She turned around to look at the strange pirate man. He smirked at her and called out after her.  
“Position is open for you, little lady, if you ever want to take it!” Gen felt her heart rise and fall at the same time. Oh, she so wanted to go off on an adventure, but was she really ready for something like this? They were pirates, going around and stealing treasure from other people. They were criminals, and yet, they were just. They weren’t biased on who they stole from and who they sold to. They were simply citizens of the world and they didn’t judge.  
Gen glanced longingly back at the ship. She realized at that moment that this may be the only time she would ever get to go on an adventure. If she stayed at home for the rest of her life, she would never know why she could bend the most destructive element when her brother and mother couldn’t. She would never know the true meaning of war or peace. She couldn’t imagine herself picking cobs of corn for the rest of her life. She was sixteen now, she had to do something while she was still young enough to enjoy it.  
Gen stopped, causing Eri to stumble because he had been behind her. Zora turned to look at her daughter who was staring nervously at the ground.  
“I know what I want for my birthday.” She said grimly, not looking into her mother or her brother’s eyes. Zora gulped, but put on a façade of pleasure.  
“Oh good. Let’s go get it and we can go home.” She said, reaching for Gen’s hand.  
“No.” Gen stepped back, avoiding her mother’s searching hands. Eri stepped in front of Gen, next to his mother and stared at his sister in confusion. Gen gulped and lifted her head to look them both in the eyes. “I want to join their crew.” Gen jerked her head behind her shoulder and felt her heart rate rise as her mother’s face turned white as sheet.  
“But Gen, they’re pirates.” Zora said quietly. Gen looked her mother in her rich copper eyes and sighed, gripping the hem of her shirt. Eri stared at his sister in disbelief. How could his own sister want to leave his family for something as stupid as a ship?  
“Mother, they only need another crew member. I won’t be doing any of the pirating. And they don’t care that I’m a firebender. They welcome people like me. They aren’t biased and they don’t care about a person’s past. I want to travel the world, mother, can’t you understand that? I don’t fit in at our village, I never have. I don’t look like you or Eri and people know I’m different. I want to figure out where I truly belong, mother. Please understand. I can’t live the rest of my life trapped.”  
Zora swallowed the bile in her throat as tears welled up in her eyes. She had been waiting for this day. Now that it was finally here, Zora couldn’t believe how unprepared she was. She was so proud and yet so scared for her daughter. She knew that Gen was resourceful and could take care of herself, but she was terrified of what could happen. Zora grabbed Eri’s hand and took a deep breath.  
“I knew this day would come.” She said quietly. Eri stared at his mother wide-eyed. Was she really going to let Gen go off her own? Zora released Eri’s hand and grabbed her daughter, pulling her into an embrace. Eri stared at the scene and at his sister. He knew that Gen wasn’t happy, but he couldn’t seem to think that this was a horrible idea. He looked at the tears streaming both women’s faces and sighed. This was what she wanted, he had to go with it.  
Gen pulled away from her mother’s embrace and looked at Eri, whose eyes were closed. She reached forward and took her brother’s hand and he looked up at her. He sighed and pulled her into and embrace. Gen sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in her brother’s scent. She longed for his approval and support. He was her hero and going off without his blessing would have been going for weeks without food.  
“Be safe. Be smart.” He whispered in her ear. She smiled and nodded as they broke a part. She took a deep breath and turned away from her family.  
Gen walked back towards the ship, her sadness slowly fading and a newfound confidence building up within her. She was walking towards her freedom. She was walking towards her destiny, she just knew it.

~~~~~

First fanfiction on this site! Be Kind!


	2. Three Thieves

Chapter 2: Three Thieves

  
Gen lay back on her bunk bed at the bottom of the ship and was tossing a small ball up in the air and back down again. They had been sailing for a good few weeks after taking their last looting. It had been fun. It had been a Water Nation ship with three water benders and some very valuable scrolls. Gen especially had fun when she got to melt the ice that had supposedly stabbed the ship. The looks on the bender’s faces were priceless.  
Now they were heading back to the port to sell their merchandise. Gen sighed, tossing the ball up again. It had been a good four months since she had been back to this port and she knew that her mother and her brother were waiting for her to visit. Gen didn’t want to visit them. She knew that they would try to persuade her to come back. Gen never wanted to go back. She adored it here.  
Her firebending had gotten much better, even though it was still pretty weak. She definitely couldn’t go up against a master, but she was good enough to put a few holes in people’s clothing. Aside from her bending, she had become very adept with a knife and sword. The shorter swords were her favorite weapon, by far, and she could now easily take on three of the top pirates on this ship and beat them with no problem.  
Whenever she could, she practiced her firebending. The captain allowed her a few hours on the ship if everyone left her alone so no one would get hurt. So far, she had only set a flag on fire and left a few burn marks on the ship. She thought of them as her own contribution to the ship’s scars. She loved the atmosphere on the ship and even though she may not have made many friends, she still felt like this place meant more than just a profit ship.  
Gen heard the anchor being dropped and sat up from her bunk, happy that they were finally on dry land. She never knew how much she could miss solid ground. She stood up, adjusting her crop top and tight leather brown pants.  
She had gotten new clothes when she joined and she couldn’t help but love them. Her top ended just over her belly button and the sleeves of the beige top were long and baggy, perfect for hiding things in. Her pants were tight and reached all the way to her ankles, where she wore black leather boots over her feet. She had a belt around her waist where her knives and swords were attached and her hair was tied into a ponytail on the top of her head with a beige bandana around her head. With the new scar she had on her collar bone from a knife fight with a soldier, she felt like she looked pretty pirated up.  
She tightened her belt and headed up to the top of the ship, hearing the familiar calls of seagulls and the fresh scent of sea air wafting in her nostrils. She pushed the cabin door open and stepped out into the fresh air of the port. Gen smiled as she saw the captain and his pet iguana bird whom she still didn’t know the name of. The captain saw her and smirked. He tossed something to her and Gen easily caught it. She opened her palm to see two gold coins.  
“Go get yourself something pretty and be back in an hour. That’s when we’ll open for the customers.” He said fondly. Over the past few months, this man had become a significant father figure in Gen’s life, even though she knew she couldn’t fully trust him. He had allowed her on his ship and he had allowed her to practice her firebending whenever she could. Gen smiled and winked at him.  
“Of course, you need your prettiest people to open the shop for the customers.” The captain laughed as his second-in-command, an oily earth kingdom fellow named Oh, walked up frowning. He gave Gen a disapproving stare and she stuck her tongue out at him, quickly walking off the ship and into the market.  
Gen walked around the pier, admiring everything they had to offer. She had two gold coins to burn and she knew that she could get anything she wanted with the gold coins and a pretty smile. She had perfected her appearance of innocent girl, or even a mature seductress. She could play any role she wanted and it easily worked on slime ball men who fell over their feet at any sign of a nice face and body.  
Gen paused at a jewelry store and peered at the necklaces they had to offer. She touched a large black pendant, about the size of one of the coins she had in her pocket, attached to a black ribbon that would tie around her neck as a choker. She ran her finger over the cool black stone and marveled at the pretty patterns embedded in the pendant. One of merchants came up to her and started to talk to her about what an incredible eye she had and how this necklace was a rare antique from some place or another.  
Gen knew all these men’s scams. She knew that paying more than one gold coin would be a waste of her money and she could easily tell that the stone wasn’t worth more than maybe ten silver pieces. She looked up at the merchant and flashed a smile.  
“So how much?” She asked politely, blinking seductively. The man gulped and stared at her fluttering eyelids.  
“Five gold pieces, nothing less.” He said, trying to be firm. But Gen could hear slight hesitation in his voice. This man would be a sucker for a damsel in distress card. Gen sighed, feigning sadness and slowly put the necklace back.  
“Oh, okay. I only have two gold pieces. But I know you need to keep your standards high. I was just hoping to replace the pendant I had lost. It had been given to me by my mother. She’s gone now, and I miss her so. This pendant looked just like it and I really hoped to try and replace the one I lost. I’m sorry, I suppose I’ll leave you to your business.” Gen said sadly, puffing out her lower lip and allowing her fingers to tremble from fake sadness. As she turned to leave, the man placed a kind hand on her shoulder. She smirked internally, this was too easy.  
“Oh, please, you can have it. Honestly, it’s a gift from me. I’m very sorry about your mother, I wish there was more I could do.” The man placed the pendant in her palm and Gen smiled. She gave the man a sad shrug, even though she was dancing on the inside.  
“This is more than enough. Thank you.” She bowed and turned to leave, gently tying the necklace around her neck. She enjoyed the feel of the pendant on her collarbone and she especially enjoyed the jingle in her pocket from the remaining two gold pieces.  
Gen continued to walk around the market during the hour she was given, but she couldn’t find anything else of interest to her. On her way back to the ship, she noticed three people walking by the ship and Oh was speaking to them. The first thing she noticed was how young they were, one of them looking no older than thirteen. There was a bald boy with strange arrow shaped tattoos and two similar looking water tribe siblings. Gen smirked. These three would be easy to scam.  
“You there!” Oh called out to them. “I can see by your clothing that your worldly travelers. Can I interest you in some exotic curios?” the bald boy stopped and smiled as a monkey or lemur animal crawled its way onto his head. Gen grinned and skipped over to them as the boy spoke.  
“Sure! What are curios?” He asked politely. Before Oh could answer, Gen stepped in front of him and smiled broadly at the boy.  
“They’re whatever you want them to be, kid!” she said, spreading her arms wide. “Anything you want, we have. So come on in, I’m sure we’ll have something that interests you.” She said happily as Oh slung his arm around the bald kid’s shoulder. The water tribe girl followed nervously as the older boy stared suspiciously at Gen. Gen flashed him a smiled and winked as she led them onto the ship.  
She clasped her hands behind her back innocently and followed the boy into the deck. As three of them started to browse through the wares, Gen leaned against one of the shelves next to Oh. Oh gave her a small glance, eyeing the necklace. Gen smirked at him and he looked away. Oh had a keen eye for jewels and their worth. He would know that the pendant was actually not worth that much.  
“Wow, Aang, Sokka, come look at this!” the girl was pointing to one of the shelves. Gen’s eyes narrowed as the girl pulled out the water tribe scroll that she and the pirates had just acquired. She knew that there was already someone who wanted that scroll. Why didn’t the captain put it in the back with the other items on hold? The bald boy and the girl marveled at the scroll as the captain walked over to them and snatched the scroll away. Gen smirked.  
“Wait a minute, you guys are pirates!” The water tribe boy turned to face Gen and Oh with a wide-eyed accusing look. Gen blew him a kiss as Oh threw his arm around the boy.  
“We prefer to think of ourselves as high risk traders.” Oh said easily. Gen grinned as the water tribe girl asked for the price of the water bending scroll  
“I’ve already got a buyer up north, a nobleman in the earth kingdom. Unless you kids have two hundred gold pieces on you right now.” Gen followed the bald boy with her eyes as he whispered something to the water tribe girl. He turned back to the captain and leaned against the table obnoxiously.  
“What say ye to the price of… one copper piece?” the boy held up the copper piece and Gen snorted as the captain guffawed loudly.  
“The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don’t haggle on items this rare.” He said firmly. But the boy was persistent.  
“Okay then, how about two copper pieces?” Gen frowned at the boy. Did he not understand the concept of haggling? You didn’t just offer low amounts of money. You started low, but not that low. Was he making fun of them?  
“It’s not as funny the second time, boy.” The captain snarled. The water tribe girl grabbed the boy’s arm, asking to leave. The corners of Gen’s mouth tilted downwards as she watched the body language of the girl. She was acting strangely suspicious. She seemed pretty bold at first, but now she just looked scared. She kept swallowing even though Gen hadn’t seen her eat or drink anything. There was something off about her.  
“Aye, we be casting off now.” The bald boy said in a mock pirate accent. Gen wanted to smile at his stupidity, but her eyes were narrowed in on something else. As the three of them left, Gen walked over to the shelf of scrolls. She sifted through the shelf, but she couldn’t find the waterbending scroll that they had just been fighting for. Gen suddenly realized what had happened. They had stolen it. She gasped and turned to face the captain with wide eyes.  
“They took it.” She said fearfully. The captain looked at her and at Oh and threw his hands up.  
“Well don’t just stand there, go get it!” He roared. Gen didn’t need to be told twice. She hated being stolen from. These three imps would pay for this.  
She burst out of the ship and called after the three. They turned around to face her as Oh and several of the other pirates hopped off the ship and drew their weapons. Gen pulled her dual blades out and snarled at them as the three stared at them in surprise. Gen’s eyes narrowed on the girl who looked much more scared than the other two. I’m coming for you, sweetie, Gen thought as she started running towards them.  
Immediately, the three took off in a run. Gen, Oh, and two others kept going straight to cut them off, while the other pirates followed behind them so they would have nowhere to go. Gen was faster than the others and she managed to cut the three off before they could escape and chased them all the way into a dead end. Gen smirked as they turned to face her and the others.  
“So, who wants a taste of my blade first?” Oh asked, winding his swords up. Gen rolled his eyes as the bald boy stepped in front.  
“No thanks.” He took his staff and did something that Gen couldn’t explain. He swung it forward, and, even though he was at least ten yards away, a strong gust of wind blasted into Gen’s eyes. She covered her eyes and coughed, quickly trying to recuperate.  
Once she did, she saw the staff had turned into a glider of sorts and the two water tribe kids were hanging off the end, while the bald boy was flying the glider. Gen ducked as their feet came in contact with the other pirates’ faces. Gen quickly stood up as they started to fly away.  
In one last effort to get them back down, Gen crouched and pulled on that special place of fire in her chest. She burst back on her feet and shot a long fire blast up to where they were. One of the kids cried out and she knew she had at least reached one of them. But they were gone before Gen could do anything else. Gen let out a breath as the other pirates joined up with her and Oh.  
Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the glider disappearing behind the clouds. She would get them back for this.

~~~

Let me know what you think!


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